Thermal management systems are often used to provide cooling to electronic and electrical components, such as in manufacturing controls, telecom equipment, data networks, and/or other vital systems to optimize operating conditions of the electronic and electrical components. A typical thermal management system for cooling a main enclosure may include one or more cooling units, a controller, and a controller enclosure.
The main enclosure contains the electrical and electronic components that are to be cooled, and may be fireproof, which requires precise, low-tolerance design to protect the components. The cooling unit(s) are mounted within the main enclosure and may include a fan and a heat sink for removing heat from the main enclosure. The controller generally provides commands to the cooling units through an electrical signal, while power for the cooling units is provided for using a separate power source. In some applications the controller may be used to power and control the cooling modules. In this situation, the wires bringing power into the controller and the wires taking power out of the controller and into the cooling units are hard wired to the controller. Typically, the cooling modules are electrically connected to a terminal block of the controller. This may make installation more complicated, makes it more difficult to swap out a first controller for a second controller, and makes relocating the thermal management system more difficult.
Due to the size of the controller and the limited availability of space in the main enclosure, the controller is mounted outside of the main enclosure. In order to provide the necessary hardwire connection and, in fireproof or otherwise secure application, to enclose and protect the controller, a controller enclosure, as shown in FIG. 1, is needed. The controller enclosure may be attached to an outside surface of the main enclosure or may be attached to a surface external to the main enclosure, such as a nearby wall. This results in more material being used to build a second enclosure, more space being used up overall by the thermal management system, and more complexity in installation the thermal management system.
Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a controller that takes up less space, that does not require its own separate enclosure, and that provides for a simpler connection between an input on the controller and an output on the controller to simplify installation and modification of the thermal management system.